Ok, guys and gals. I've struggled in the past with picking a spot to shot on live animals.
I have ditched the bag and block targets with dots on them.
I got some blunts and been roving shooting leafs, clumps of grass and dirt clods ect. What ever needs shot.
My confidence and shooting have went up ten fold.
Let's face it deer not walking around with orange and black dots on them, so what's the point in shotting at them.
I'm talking pure hunting practice, I know there is no substitute for live animals.
But roving, shooting in the brush, sitting, knelling, bending, twisting seems like the stuff to be doing
Not shotting my 3 d deer target over and over in the same places
My thoughts......yes!! But.....you still have to pick a spot. Don't shoot a stump, shoot at a point on the stump, like a knot or hole. Just fine tune your focus.........
We have lots of ground squirrels here that we call gophers...I think the best way to learn to pick a spot on a live target is to shoot at live targets...they are also the ultimate string jumper which helps you to think about how an animal will react to an arrow coming at it...they blend in nicely making you look for detail to pick them out...which reminds me they should be out of hibernation now...time to check out my hotspots
DDave
yup just shoot crows tree rats gophers and anything else ya can eat LOL!!
Shoot at the smallest thing you think can see on a leaf, and then try to hit the left side of that spot. However, I tried to shoot at an obvious spot on a turkey, his eyeball. Turkeys can move their heads real fast.
Best thing I have found is getting a 3d target. And practicing from a tree stand or ground blind or whatever suits you best. Make the practice as real as possible.
My best confidence builder is shooting 3D from the same situations I'll be hunting...from elevation.
Those who said aim at small spots on whatever you are shooting are right on (pavan, etc.). The biggest pit-fall of shooting shadows, dirt clods, leaves, etc. is that the entire item is often the object of our concentration. Then an "edge" shot on a small object is considered success. The edge of a deer is an arrow you'd like to have back.
When I started in 1969, we would tie a card board shaped deer to bales of hay with NO markings on the card board except a light pencil out line for the vitals, which you couldn't see at 5 yds.
Once we discovered Judo's, all the practice we did was roving and stump shooting. I never shot a 3D course or at a 3D animal. The Muzzy shoot was very similar to my backyard practice, where at times throw out 8" squares of foam at unknown distances.
No matter where I'm practicing, roving or backyard, I shoot from kneeling, uphill, downhill and upright. All and any angles always picking a spot and bearing down. Like Ron W stated, shoot at a stump, pick a spot on that stump. For me, this is the best practice to keep me sharp for the fall.
Some 3D tourneys enforce the foot-against-stake rules and make you kneel, shoot goofy foot, over and under obstacles. Those are worthy hunter situations. I like roving even better in places suited. Here we have rocks, biguns--- hidden until one hears the tink,sparks flying, and the guffaws of those shooting with you
Only thing better than roving to practice for hunting is small game hunting and I rove when I hunt anyways and if I find a good spot to shoot when I'm elk hunting, I GPS the spot so I can hit it on my way in to practice a little.
To my way of thinking. . re-read what Ron W said. Then, start playing the game, including the kneeling, between the bush and the tree etc. Have a ton of fun and get better at the very shots you just might get at a critter. Only thing better is roving, but using critter targets that are moved every time and placed in difficult areas. Plain roving is easier.
ChuckC
I dont necessarily think that roving is good hunting practice. Good shooting practice, yes, 100% my favorite form of target shooting. But there is so much more to successful traditional bowhunting than being a good shot.
Any degree of success for me personally has come from putting in a lot of time with animals. Watching them on the side of the road, while scouting, hiking or any period of observation gives you insights into animal behavior. This has given me a comfort level around animals and alleviates some of the panic and adrenaline that comes with close contact with deer, pigs, bear, moose and even small game.
Roving will give you great confidence in your shooting which I believe is a must but unless you have time on the ground with live animals the more chance you have of going into "condition black" or extreme tunnel vision leading to a miss or a wounding.
Keep on stumping and roving, its helluva fun, and good but don't discount familiarity with the game you hunt.
I agree there is no substitute for hunting.
I study the animals and where to pick my spot.
But what's more realistic??
Me picking a spot on a big dirt bank in the woods or shooting an orange dot on a giant back stop on a manicured target range.
That's kinda my question?
Dirt bank in the woods all day long!
I don.t know what is "best" practice for bowhunting, as you cannot practice bowhunting like you can wing shooting, e.g, hundreds of white wing doves in Argentina. I know that a stumping rove with my bother in law today, shooting knots on stumps and trees, shooting uphill, downhill, across gulleys. across ponds, though tight openings in the brush, 15-90 yards, was almost as much enjoyment as drawing back on a buck.
How about all the above? 3D gives you a replica of a game animal thus allowing you to seek a spot on a close approximation of what will be seen in the field. Roving requires you to pick a spot at unknown distances on relatively small and oddly shaped targets. Dot targets require you to pick a spot at a given distance, ideal for form training. Moreover, all these practices are useful and require you to pick a spot, which is the essence of accurate shooting. Small game shooting is fun and very challenging. Mixing them up helps avoid boredom that comes from an non-varied training regimen. Perhaps no single activity by itself is the complete solution to preparation.
I like to mix it up personally. Stump shooting, 3D shoots, range shooting, small game hunting. Variety is the spice of life and since I don't know what my perfect animal opportunity in the woods will look like, I just like to be well rounded with my bow.
Shooting small game is the best practice. I'll even shoot trash birds like starlings o kep me sharp in the spring and summer.
I like roving myself for practice and fun but the absolutely best practice for hunting for me is hunting groundhogs. You'll get it all, weird positions, stalking practice, picking a spot on a small target, shooting broadheads, the adrenalin rush.
I love to stump shoot. 3d targets, dots, blank bale are all good. If your going to hunt from a treestand, practice from one. Same for a ground blind.
But Izzy's right: There is no substitute for being near game.
One of the main things for me when seriously practicing for hunting is there be a broadhead on the end of my arrow.
If you don't see your broadhead in sight picture it may not matter, but I do and a 2-1/2" wide Tree Shark looks a lot different from a field point even though it does fly like my field points.
If its NOT the best is sure is the most FUN.
The best hunting practice is hunting--if there's not a season open then varmits and feral animals.
Besides that, 3-D. Picking a spot, unmarked distances, pressure (people watching), targets may be at an angle, etc. 'Course it's not hunting, but nothing other than hunting is.
I bought 6 or 8 of the foam balls kids play with for about a dollar each. They are the size of a softball, they float, and they are throwable. I put some on bamboo tomato stakes and set them up at about 30" off the ground-some in the woods, some by my stand, some I leave on the ground. Broadheads and field points go through, blunts take out a chunk. They have polka dots, flowers, stripes, and other designs on them to aim at.
I practice with my sirdan points, which are a lot like broadheads. THey weigh enough the same all I do is grab the broadhead and go.
I have to agree with most everything that's been said so far. I love roving/stump shooting, and It's good practice. I think small game hunting is even better. Shooting often, under different conditions, at a wide variety of targets and distances is IMO, the best practice you can get. And like some of the others have said, whatever you're shooting at, always pick a spot. Don't forget to have fun.
Bob
QuoteOriginally posted by Bowwild:
My best confidence builder is shooting 3D from the same situations I'll be hunting...from elevation.
Those who said aim at small spots on whatever you are shooting are right on (pavan, etc.). The biggest pit-fall of shooting shadows, dirt clods, leaves, etc. is that the entire item is often the object of our concentration. Then an "edge" shot on a small object is considered success. The edge of a deer is an arrow you'd like to have back.
2X
I like a tennis ball thrown out on the target range. I have converts a couple of paper shooters to Judo fans.
For more of a challenge we set the ball on top of a paper coffee cup. Hitting the cup is a -1 point. The tennis ball is +2.
Golf balls are 5 points, but they really take off when hit.
Lots of good suggestions already given. I like to take my 3D deer and set it up in the woods and take different shots at it. This is as close as I can get to the real thing.It makes a difference than just shooting at it in the yard. It's easy for me to do since I live in the woods.
I also work in some other practice during the last week before a trip.
2 arrows per day spread well apart. One long shot and one closer up. No more than 2 shots per day.
I have found out that things look different when you switch from a cube target to a 3d one.... for that reason, I practice HEAVILY with 3d targets.
I guess whatever works for you best!
Good luck and God bless,
Rodd
Give me a good 3D shoot. Different animals, different distances and different angles.
The way I see it, the different forms of practice are for honing the different skill sets that we need.
Shooting dots doesn't have anything to do with hunting but it has everything to do with shooting a bow. If you can't hit it on the range when you have all the time in the world and control over everything, you're unlikely to hit it at all...unless you just get lucky. It also provides for an objective measure of accuracy and precision. It's for learning to shoot.
Obviously, hunting adds a bunch of new twists. Roving, 3-d or whatever provide a means of applying what we learn on the range to conditions and an environment that has more in common with hunting.
What tracker12 said. There is nothing better than shooting at life sized targets to properly know distances when hunting certain animals. Shooting elevated is good too
Avoid routine, change up your practicing, mix different targets, different environments, get used to shooting in lots of scenarios